


Under the Sea

by TheNightFury



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Aquarium visit, But I Love Them, Good thing Alex loves him., M/M, Post S4, The boys went rogue on me, Who loves playing in water, Zeb is an overexcitable child, two dorks in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:55:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25941703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNightFury/pseuds/TheNightFury
Summary: While on their way to Lira San, Alex makes an unexpected pit stop to give Zeb a special treat.
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
Comments: 7
Kudos: 55





	Under the Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lohikäärme (Spacetiddies)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spacetiddies/gifts).



Zeb was buzzing with excitement as they traveled to Lira San. He knew from the moment Alex defected Zeb knew he was going to take him to Lira San, and now that moment was finally here. After years of seemingly pointless war and death, they were free. After the battle of Endor, Zeb had swept Alex into his arms and in a moment of dazed excitement, asked him to travel across the Galaxy to a place that could be their home, and Alex, sweet, honorable, wonderful Alex, didn’t hesitate for a moment before saying yes. He didn’t even ask where they were going, declaring, 

“As long as I’m with you, I would be happy anywhere.” Zeb wanted to propose to him right then and there but he held back with every fiber of his being. He had a plan already, he was going to take him to Lira San where Chava was already planning a massive welcome party for them both. They would eat and dance and then at the perfect moment Zeb would take Alex to a secluded spot and get down on one knee-

“We’re here,” Alex declared, snapping Zeb out of his thoughts. Already? No that was impossible, Lira San was still a solid half day's trip away- “I uh...I asked the captain to make a pit stop for us,” Alex sheepishly admitted. “He mentioned he had a delivery to make after dropping us off but I asked if we could stop here first so he could make the delivery and we get a chance to go sightseeing.” Alex was looking anywhere but Zeb as he said all of this, the scent of fear radiating off of him, making his heart melt. “I-If this is an issue-”

“No,” Zeb quickly assured, walking over to take Alex’s hands in his, squeezing them reassuringly. “I think it’s sweet.”

“...it won’t mess with any of your plans?” Alex asked in a small voice, nervously glancing up at Zeb, some of his hair dropping over his eyes. 

“Nah,” Zeb assured, tenderly brushing the loose strands away so he could tenderly peck his forehead. “I think they knew I was going to be late.” Alex raised an eyebrow at the comment but thankfully didn’t push. When Zeb had told Chava he was coming he she had told him,

“Oh that’s Wonderful Garazeb...we’ll see you in two cycles!”

“Uh Chava I’m leavin’ today-”

“Enjoy the trip!” At first Zeb had thought she was crazy. Apparently she had somehow known Alex would insist on making a pit stop. 

“Are you sure-”

“I am,” Zeb assured, tenderly kissing Alex’s lips, affection for him flooding his veins. Zeb reached up to tenderly cup his cheek, tilting his head slightly to better fit their lips together. 

“Come on, we should get going,” Alex whispered against Zeb’s lips. “Don’t want to be late.”

“Late?” Zeb asked as Alex pulled away, taking his hand to lead him off of the ship down a dirt path. 

“Luckily the delivery isn’t too far from where we need to go,” Alex continued as if Zeb hadn’t spoken. 

“Where are we goin’?” Zeb asked as he followed Alex down the ramp. 

“It’s a surprise!” Alex said, a wide grin on his face that hid how anxious he was. Most wouldn’t be able to tell, but Zeb could see he was nervous about whatever this surprise was, the way he so rigidly held himself upright as they walked, how tightly Alex held onto his hand, entire arm stiff, how he wouldn’t even look at Zeb as they walked, focusing painfully on the road ahead of them, stubbornly trying to hide the small ever precent limp he’d developed over the years from the leg that had broken on Bahryn and then brutally re-broken by Thrawn. 

“Relax,” Zeb soothingly purred. 

“I am relaxed,” Alex tensely said, Zeb reassuringly squeezing his hand. 

“Whatever it is I’ll love it,” Zeb assured, Alex merely swallowing thickly in response. Whatever had Alex, clearly had him terrified that Zeb would be upset, though what could Alex have planned that would make him fearful of Zeb’s response? The pair walked in uncomfortable silence, Alex’s nervousness and terror making the air between them thick and tense. He wanted to comfort and reassure him, but Zeb wasn’t sure what to say to relax him. He’d never seen Alex so nervous before…

“Almost there,” Alex finally said as the ground beneath their feet became sandy, the tree’s becoming thinner around them as the smell of salt reached Zeb’s nose. Were they by a beach? Zeb’s ears perked up at the sound of laughter hit his sensitive ears. He tried to listen for the telltale sounds of crashing waves but couldn’t hear anything. A salt water lake perhaps? 

“Wait….close your eyes,” Alex said, a playful grin on his face, body still tense as he tried to play his nervousness off. 

“What?” Zeb asked, confused. 

“Close your eyes!” Alex exclaimed, “Please?”

“Alright, alright,” Zeb said, shutting his eyes, feeling Alex’s hands over his eyes, a small chuckle escaping him. “What’re you doin’?” 

“I don’t trust you!” Alex exclaimed. 

“But you got in a ship going to an unknown place with me!” Zeb cried as Alex led him down the path, the sand beneath his feet changing texture, still sandy but his feet didn’t sink in as deep, more like sand laid down on top of a solid path.

“I know you mentioned loving going to the lake back on Lasan,” Alex slowly said ignoring Zeb’s comment, nervous energy radiating off of him, clearly scared to bring up Zeb’s home world. “And how your family would sometimes visit a resort that was off the beach and your favorite part was watching the sea creatures so...when I heard about the sanctuary here I thought you would like it.” Slowly Alex lowered his hand away so Zeb could open his eyes, ears perking up in excitement as a gasp escaped his lips. 

A massive building stood before him with beautiful white stones, a sandy path laid with seashells and aquatic designs lead to the building which housed an aquarium. Zeb;’s eyes widened as he started eagerly bouncing in place as he took in the building before him. 

“Do you like it?” Alex nervously asked, anxiously wringing his hands together, his entire body tense as he watched Zeb, waiting for some sort of reaction. 

“Like it?” Zeb cried. “I-I love it!” With a joyous laugh Zeb swept Alex into his arms, spinning them around as he peppered kisses across Alex’s face, earning a laugh from the other man. Zeb hugged him close, keeping him still in the air as he nuzzled his face into Alex’s cheek, earning another breathless laugh from him as he finally set him back down on the ground. 

“Thank you,” Zeb breathed, taking both of Alex’s smaller hands in his own. “This is wonderful.” 

“We haven’t even gone inside yet,” Alex breathlessly whispered. 

“So what are we waiting for?” Zeb exclaimed, eagerly tugging him towards the building, half running past other families who were talking up to the building to purchase their tickets. Ordinarily Zeb knew Alex would be scolding him for being so careless and inconsiderate but today it seemed Alex was simply enjoying the moment with Zeb and not concerning himself with such things. Good, Alex really needed to loosen up. 

Despite how late it was in the day, the area was surprisingly empty. It was possible people were too busy celebrating their newfound freedom from the Empire to concern themselves with a trip to something as seemingly mundane as the aquarium which suited Zeb just fine. Less people meant they could more freely enjoy the aquarium without having to fight their way through massive crowds. 

Though Zeb didn’t give him a chance to, Alex seemed content to let Zeb eagerly take him around from tank to tank, seemingly more concerned with allowing this to be Zeb’s day. The thoughtfulness of it all touched Zeb, his heart swelling as he found himself once again resisting the urge to drop down on one knee here before him. He needed to wait though. The moment had to be perfect. 

So instead, Zeb focused on eagerly moving from tank to tank, watching the amazing creatures swimming through the tanks, just as eager as the kits surrounding them to catch a glimpse of the colorful creatures. Soon Zeb led them through a large glass tunnel with larger creatures swimming in the vast tank on the other side. 

“Wow….” Zeb gasped, walking up to the tank in wonder, watching the creatures swimming in the distance. Overhead a mantaray swam against the glass, Zeb’s ears perking up as he watched the magnificent beast swim overhead. Laughing Alex took his hand and asked, 

“Having fun dear?”

“Yes,” Zeb mumbled, ears drooping. 

“Good,” Alex warmly said, pecking his cheek, Zeb’s ears perking up at the touch. 

“Hehe….guess I am just a little excited….”

“It’s cute,” Alex assured. “It’s nice seeing you so happy.”

“Even if I’m acting like a little kit?”

“Especially so,” Alex declared. Zeb beamed at him as he led him through the tunnel, eagerly following the progress of the mantaray swimming overhead, pausing when a creature very similar to the purgill swam past. 

“Wonder if they’re related,” Zeb wondered aloud. 

“Could be,” Alex whispered, seemingly knowing what Zeb was referring to. 

“Ezra would love it here-...” Zeb excitedly began, freezing as the words processed in his mind, ears drooping. 

“When he comes home, we’ll bring him here,” Alex softly said, wrapping an arm around Zeb’s waist and hugging him close. 

“Really?” Zeb hopefully asked, ears perking up. 

“Yes,” Alex firmly said. “And we’ll come here as often as you like.”

Zeb beamed at him and kissed his cheek before eagerly leading him deeper into the aquarium. It was almost impossible to believe a place like this actually existed during the cruel reign of the Empire. But it did. Somehow despite everything this place was allowed to exist and now they were here, celebrating the fall of the Empire. There was something poetic about it to Zeb, the Empire tried so hard to destroy so many lives, but here they were, exploring a world untouched by the Empire’s cruel reign. 

Despite the fact that Alex seemed to be relaxing, Zeb got the feeling that something was still bothering him, out of the corner of his eyes catching Alex standing stiff when he thought Zeb wasn’t looking. Why was he still nervous? Couldn’t he see Zeb was loving this?

Slowly the pair made their way through the aquarium, eventually reaching the other side of the first building where there was a pair of doors that lead to an outside section of the aquarium. Past the doors was a massive pool with walkways that weaved over and around the pool, the area filled with the soothing sounds of water from the waterfall in the far corner of the room. Zeb eagerly bounded over to the closest railing to peer down into the crystal waters, gasping in excitement at the sight of otters happily swimming in the water below. 

“Alex! Alex come ‘ere!” Zeb exclaimed, tearing his gaze away long enough to wave Alex over who had already been walking over. 

“Yes dear?” Alex asked with a warm chuckle as Zeb eagerly bent over the railing once more to watch the otters. “Careful or you’ll fall over!” Alex gently warned. 

“Maybe I want to join ‘em!” Zeb declared, laughing joyfully as one of the otters eagerly dove into the water close by, nearly hitting Zeb with a faceful of water. 

“Then you’ll be soaked for the rest of the day and I do not need to hear you complaining about it,” Alex said in a playful tone, devoid of any malice. 

“Aww you love me,” Zeb said, quickly flashing Alex a soft grin before turning back towards the otters. 

“Course I do,” Alex assured, wrapping an arm around Zeb’s waist, hugging him, Zeb wrapping an arm around his shoulder as they automatically reached towards each other with their free hands, clasping them together as they held each other close as they continued to watch the otters swimming without a care. Peaceful. Joyous. Something Zeb hadn’t truly been able to feel since Lasan. And Alex had brought him here, to this place that reminded him so much of his old home and family, because he wanted to make Zeb smile. No matter how certain Zeb was he couldn’t fall more in love with him, Alex somehow found a way to make him fall just a little more in love with him every day. 

“Thank you,” Zeb hoarsely whispered, looking at Alex who tore his gaze away from the pool to look at Zeb with complete adoration and love, leaving Zeb breathless, heart swelling with love and adoration. 

“Of course,” Alex softly said, squeezing Zeb’s hand. “I would do anything to see you smile.” Zeb couldn’t think of any response to convey the amount of love that swelled in his chest, so instead he did the next best thing, leaning in to kiss him with every ounce of love he had within his entire being. Alex melted into the kiss, pressing his body against Zeb’s as he broke the kiss to rub his cheek against Zeb’s, eliciting a joyful purr from Zeb who eagerly leaning into the touch. 

“I love you so much,” Zeb whispered, voice trembling as he pressed his forehead against Alex’s, mind made up. The big grand proposal on Lira San didn’t matter. This moment right here was the perfect moment to propose. 

“I love you too,” Alex replied as he pulled away. “More than I could ever truly express. I cannot imagine ever finding someone who makes me happier then you do.” This was it, this was the moment. Without thinking, Zeb reached into a pocket to pull out a ring carefully carved from a new meteor. Before he could even think of moving down to one knee, Alex had pulled out something from his pocket and started speaking in Lasana,

“Garazeb, you are my light, you guided me from my darkest moment and time and time again have saved me in every way possible. There is no one I could ever imagine spending the rest of my life with. Would you do me the honor of marrying me?” Zeb couldn’t think, couldn’t breath at the sound of Alex speaking in his peoples language, declaring his wish to marry him. All he could do was stare in shock as tears of joy leaked from the corners of his eyes, trailing down his face, terror flashing across Alex’s face. 

“I-I’m sorry I-I thought- I didn’t mean to-”

“No, no!” Zeb quickly assured, taking Alex’s hands. “It’s just- I-I I was going to propose to you.” 

“You were?” Alex asked, Zeb nodding as he presented the ring he had spent so long carefully carving for Alex. 

“I went back to Bahryn to get a new meteor to make this….that moon was where it all began so….it seemed appropriate.” A wide grin spread across Alex’s face as a joyous laugh burst from his chest. 

“We are of the same mind it seems,” Alex tenderly said as he finally presented the object in his hand; a necklace with a charm made from a meteor. “I know on Lasan...traditionally the proposer carves a pair of matching necklaces but….I’ve never done something like this before and uh...I must admit I ruined most of the meteor carving this one-”

“Well then, it’s a good thing I carved this for you,” Zeb whispered, revealing the ring he’d spent countless hours crafting.

“It’s beautiful Zeb,” Alex whispered, voice cracking as Zeb tenderly took Alex’s hand in his own. 

“Will you marry me?” Zeb softly asked. 

“I asked you first,” Alex responded with a warm smile. 

“Yea,” Zeb responded as he carefully removed the glove off of Alex’s hand. “But I think my answer is obvious.”

“Maybe, but I want to hear you say it.”

“Nothing would make me happier then to have the pleasure of being called your husband,” Zeb whispered as he slipped the ring on Alex’s finger. “And you?”

“I will,” Alex said, choking on a sob. “It’s beautiful Zeb.”

“So is yours,” Zeb tenderly said, gently taking the necklace from his hand. 

“Oh no it’s quite disappointing-”

“You made it,” Zeb said, finally taking in the carving on the necklace. A lopsided and misshapen fulcrum symbol carved on the rugged surface of the charm that Alex likely spent hours trying to shape into a circle that wasn’t quite perfectly round. 

It was the most beautiful thing Zeb had seen. 

“It’s beautiful Alex,” Zeb whispered, Alex ducking his head, face pink, as he mumbled,

“I-it’s not that special-”

“No it is,” Zeb firmly said, “You made this f-fer me.” The fact that Alex had proposed to him was finally truly sinking in as a joyful laugh bubbled from his chest. They were getting married! Zeb’s laugh was infectious, Alex soon laughing in excitement right alongside him and, unable to contain his joy, Zeb gleefully wrapped his arms around Alex’s waist and lifted him off the ground, spinning him as he peppered kisses across his face, Alex frantically returning the gesture whenever he could, arms firmly wrapped around Zeb’s neck as they spun around. 

He imagined they must have looked ridiculous, laughing and kissing in the middle of an aquarium, but anyone judging them could shove it as far as Zeb was concerned. The man he loved more than life itself wanted to marry him. There was nothing in the entire galaxy that could make Zeb happier then he was at that very moment. 

Affection rushed through his veins as Alex tenderly rubbed their cheeks together, before pressing their lips together in a passionate kiss. Zeb all too eagerly broke the kiss to rub his cheek against Alex’s other cheek before returning the passionate kiss. 

Zeb would have gladly stayed right their all day kissing him nonstop, but he knew he might drop to the ground with how dizzy he was making himself so he reluctantly set Alex back on the ground who was still laughing as Zeb stumbled forward some, pushing the still laughing Alex up against the railing.

“Sorry,” Zeb mumbled.

“It’s alright love,” Alex soothingly said. “You didn’t push me in at least.”

“But swimmin’ with ‘em would be fun!” Zeb said. 

“Maybe next time,” Alex said with a laugh. “...may I?” Alex added, placing his hand on top of the one clutching the necklace Alex had carved for him. The declaration of their love and devotion to one another. 

“Please,” Zeb whispered, ducking his head so Alex could tenderly draping the necklace around Zeb’s neck, the charm warm against his chest, Alex’s hands caressing his cheeks as he reached up to pet his ears, a joyful and content purr rumbling from Zeb’s chest. 

“How about we finish exploring and then we do some celebrating,” Alex huskily whispered.

“Think the captain will mind?” Zeb asked, pressing his forehead against Alex’s. 

“I think he’ll understand,” Alex whispered.

“Me too,” Zeb whispered, meeting Alex’s hungry gaze, planting one last tender kiss on his lips before pulling away. Zeb half expected Alex to put his glove back on his bare hand, but instead he pulled the glove off of his other hand, stuffing both in his pocket before taking Zeb’s hand in his own, proudly displaying the ring on his finger, a declaration to the galaxy of their love, Zeb’s throat tightening at the small yet significant gesture, unable to find the words to express how much it meant to him. 

Zeb lifted Alex’s hand up to tenderly kiss it, trying to convey without words what he was feeling. Wordlessly Alex reached up to wipe the stray tears off of his cheeks, a soft understanding smile on his face. 

“I love you,” Alex whispered, Zeb turning his face to press a soft kiss into his hand, nuzzling into the touch, certain he would never stop falling more and more in love with the brave, beautiful man who stood before him. 

“How did I get so lucky?” Zeb asked, voice cracking with emotion. 

“I’m the lucky one,” Alex said with a small chuckle, clearly struggling to keep his own emotions in check. 

“....we could always finish the aquarium another day,” Zeb hopefully whispered. 

“Yes we could,” Alex agreed. 

“So maybe-”

“Yes,” Alex finished, squeezing his hand as the pair turned to leave with a silent promise to return another day, both certain no other place could hold as special a place in their hearts as this one.


End file.
